Level 1
by LoneTread
Summary: The game has just begun. Twoshot, post 'Fisher King 1'. R&R.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** This doesn't deal with the whole Elle situation at all; that's seeming to already be somewhat overdone. Instead, this is all about the book. If you're looking for Elle, look elsewhere. Otherwise, read and review! (Also, I didn't tape the ep, so I only watched it once. Did I get the quotes right? Thanks.)

**Disclaimer:** Sadly, I own nothing but the words here. _Criminal Minds_ is not mine, of course. I also do not lay claim to the ideas presented here; they originated at TV-dot-com and were the product of Forsakenyes and, to a lesser extent, SpencerREid. I thank them for letting me flesh out their brilliant explanations into fanfiction. (Permission is pending, but I don't foresee having problems obtaining it.)

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**Level 1**

Spencer Reid stared at the little piece of paper bearing the encoded message. The possibilities overwhelmed him, and he tore his eyes from the numbers and looked up at the board listing out all their clues so far. A butterfly, a baseball card…. He shook his head, sighing in frustration for the thousandth time.

_She will die if you don't save her, Dr. Reid._

The responsibility was weighing on him. A girl's life lay in their hands, in his hands, and he was at a loss. None of it seemed to connect.

Finally, Reid lay down the paper and stood, heading to the door. As he walked down the hallway, he turned it all over in his mind. There was something here he was missing. Something important. It eluded him, but he knew the others could help. There had to be a reason they had been given these specific items. The unsub had said they had all they needed to complete their quest. He didn't, but maybe the team did.

Hoping the links he needed lay beyond, he knocked on Jason Gideon's door.

---

_Call Gideon. He knows._

"What do you know about Nellie Fox?"

Gideon looked at Reid, clearly somewhat thrown by the unexpectedness of the inquiry. "Just about everything," he answered. "He was born in Pennsylvania, played for the Athletics and was traded to the White Sox in '49. He was most well-known for being named MVP in 1959…." He trailed off. "What do you want to know?"

"I'm not sure yet," Reid replied. A long silence ensued. "Do you know where I could find J.J.?"

---

_You have to help him save her._

"What can I tell you about the butterfly?" J.J. repeated. "Let's see. Well, like I said before, it's native to Europe – Britain mostly. And, um, it's one of the white butterflies. That's what people call them, because – "

"Wait." Reid had frozen, the pieces of the puzzle beginning to connect in his mind. "White?"

"White, yeah. They're nicknamed that for – "

He cut her off without even noticing he had done so. "That's it! Thanks, J.J."

"You're…welcome…?" she offered as the door closed behind him.

---

_The youngest holds the key._

Back in Vegas once more, Reid was searching frantically through the shelves holding his mother's books. It was here. He knew it was. It had to be.

At long last, he found it nestled between _The Mists of Avalon _and_ The Quest for Camelot_.

It had been required reading in many of his mother's classes, he knew, and in many of those that she had taught.

He remembered the story well. King Arthur, and Excalibur in the stone…. He saw in his mind's eye the sword piercing Frank Giles' body; the allusion was not lost on him.

He turned over the cover of the novel he now held in his hands, opening the book to the first page. The words printed there informed him that it had first been published in Britain in 1958. A year later, it came to the United States. "MVP in 1959," he said quietly to himself, recalling the baseball card and Nellie Fox's claim to fame. Another piece of the puzzle fell into place.

He closed the book and fixed his gaze on the cover, reading it again and knowing he'd found the key to breaking the code. _The Once and Future King_, by T. H. White.

With baseball cards and King Arthur and white butterflies filling his thoughts, Reid pulled from his pocket a copy he'd made of the note from the music box. Opening the novel to the first page number they'd been given, he began to count lines, and the riddle slowly unraveled.

---

_Here thy quest doth truly begin._


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Yes, I know I said this was going to be a one-shot. This is the exception, not the norm. That said, I'm going to warn for major spoilers for the second half of "Fisher King" in this chapter. The book code has been deciphered and I will be including it here (despite the fact that I was wrong about the book). I'll have links to a picture of the cover of the book used to break the code (absolutely mind-blowing) and to the message board thread that broke it in my profile at least until "Fisher King (2)" airs.

**Note:** This chapter is mildly AU because I'm pretending the Elle-getting-shot scene never happened so I don't have to deal with it and can put her in this chapter.

**Disclaimer:** Standard disclaimers apply. The quote is from "Extreme Aggressor". Also, the honor of having broken the code goes to several people, none of them me. (My source is linked in my profile.) And, again, the CM fans at TVC were instrumental in the formation of the ideas in this chapter. Thanks, you guys.

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_Emerson said, "All is riddle, and the key to a riddle is another riddle."_

---

**Chapter 2 **

The paper, now decoded but not demystified, lay innocently on the ground before him. Reid closed the book and sighed.

He'd been hoping for answers. A location, maybe. Something. Instead, he'd gotten another riddle, and more questions than answers. He read and reread the message, wondering all the while if the game would ever end. Finally, shaking his head in frustration, he got to his feet. However little sense it made, the rest of the team needed to hear about it.

---

Soon enough, the other profilers were wearing the same look of disappointment and frustration. Everyone stared at the clue-covered board in silence for a few moments, running the newest message through their minds.

THE PATH TO THE END  
BEGAN AT HIS START.

TO FIND HER, FIRST CALM HER LONG BROKEN HEART.  
SHE SITS IN A WINDOW WITH SECRETS FROM HER KNIGHT.

IS IT ADVENTURE THAT KEEPS  
HIM OUT OF HER SIGHT?

Finally, Elle offered, "'She sits in a window'? Then why can't we find her?"

"No," replied Hotch. "There _weren't _any windows. He's not talking about Rebecca Bryant."

"Then who's he talking about?"

The agent's answer was to shake his head. "I don't know."

At a loss, they looked again at the rest of the message. "That last line," Morgan said. "'Him'. Him who?"

"Reid, I expect," suggested Gideon. "As in 'You have to help him find her'?"

Morgan nodded, then turned to look at Reid, a grin spreading across his features. "Been on any adventures lately?" he asked.

_She calls them your "adventures"._

Thrown, but starting to understand, Reid felt his response stick in his throat. Finally, he managed to nod.

"Yes. Yes, I believe I have."

---

Slowly, Reid walked into the room. The sun shone brightly through the window, everything casting lengthening shadows as it began to sink beneath the horizon.

His eyes traveled between the window and the woman in the chair near it, finally settling on the latter. He watched her for a moment before speaking.

"Hi, mom."

_Fin_

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**A/N:** This is the end this time, I'm serious. And I'm sorry it's so short; the X-Files has been…taking over my life. Anyway, leave a review!


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